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Archive for Propeller Guards – Page 7

3PO Navigator Propeller Guard Invented by Guy Taylor Receives U.S. Patent

Guy Taylor received U.S. Patent 8,257,121 for a “Boat Propeller Shield” on September 4, 2012. His 3PO Propeller Shield automatically swings up from his hexagonal shaped Navigator guard when underway to reduce drag. The shield automatically falls down to protect people behind the boat when the boat is at rest or backing up.

Boeing Patents System for Reducing Viscous Drag

U.S. Patent 8,240,609 “System and Method for Reducing Viscous Force Between a Fluid and a Surface” invented by Parazzoli, Tanielian, and Greegor (three Boeing researchers), was issued on August 14, 2012. Boeing’s drag reduction patent may hold promise for reducing the drag of conventional cage type or ring type propeller guards. Viscous drag (the fluid […]

Volvo Penta Patents Virtual Propeller Guard System

On June 5, 2012, Volvo Penta was issued U.S. Patent 8,195,381 for a Safety System for Marine Vessels. The patent focuses on detecting people in the water in conjunction with digital anchors. UPDATE note – on September 18, 2012 Volvo Penta was issued another patent, U.S. Patent 8,271,155 for technologies surrounding this same concept. GPS […]

Boating Industry Continues to Claim Propeller Guards Were Never Offered by Boat Builders: We Show Otherwise

A common defense used by the boating industry in propeller injury cases and in propeller guard discussions is their claim that no boat builder ever sold boats with guards on them, offered propeller guards as an option, or sold propeller guards OR at least not guards that were intended to protect people. We just encountered […]

Boat Builders Offering Propeller Guards Part 1 (A-M)

Numerous boat builders have offered or do offer propeller guards as an option, have sold propeller guards, or have provided their boats for use in major events (such as the Olympics) at which they knew guards would be required on their boats. This post is part one of a two part post identifying some of […]

Boat Builders Offering Propeller Guards Part 2 (N-Z)

This is a continuation of our list of boat builders that have offered propeller guards as an option or sold propeller guards, or provided their boats for use at a major event at which they knew guards would be required (such as the Olympics). Return to Part 1 (A-M). Narwhal Narwhal builds outboard powered RIBS […]

Donald G. Balius, Sr. : Obituary of a Propeller Guard Pioneer

We recently noticed Donald Balius passed away back on April 25, 2009 at age 81. He owned and operated Donald Balius Iron Works in Biloxi Mississippi at the same address for over 50 years until it was destroyed by hurricane Katrina in 2005. A nice obituary is in the Sun Herald (Biloxi-Gulfport MS). We borrowed […]

Yanmar Builds Diesel Outboard to Accept Propeller Guard

Back in 2000, Yanmar was offering a special lower leg on Model D27A and D36A outboards (27 and 36 horsepower) that came with bolt holes for installing a propeller guard. The boating industry has long claimed that all marine drive manufacturers are united in their stand against propeller guards. Drive manufacturers say their united stand […]

Mercury Marine / Dick Snyder 1989 Propeller Guard

Dick Snyder, Mercury Marine’s expert witness in propeller guard cases, designed a propeller guard back in 1989. Placing the event in historical perspective, this was a very eventful time. The U.S. Coast Guard NBSAC Propeller Guard Subcommittee was formed on May 11, 1988, met twice more in 1988, met in May of 1989, then delivered […]

Modeling Boat Motor Log Strikes – A Senior Design Project

The boating industry has long been aware that marine drives can strike submerged or floating obstacles. In the early days they conducted on water log strike tests. In more recent times, some have moved to dry land impact tests (log strike test stands), and even considered virtual log strike tests (computer simulated log strike tests). […]